Talking to Express Newsline, department head Debal Dasgupta said, ``Students were granted admissions either through the faculty or they would join the part-time evening course''.

He said most of the students joined the course out of curiosity and then left it after studying for a year or so. ``Most of the students don't realise that the course can open up new vistas for them,'' he pointed out, adding, those opting for the subject till their post-graduate level did so with a specific purpose.

He said many students who had completed the course had joined the Merchant Navy and even the Air Force. ``A few have also joined the Indian Space Research Organisation,'' he added.

He said now that students from other universities can be taken in directly, they could learn the language at a much lesser cost.

``Whether local students could go abroad and vice-versa through an exchange programme is still being discussed,'' Dasgupta said.